One Direction
One Direction is a British-Irish boy band consisting of Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan. Former member Zayn Malik left the band in March 2015. They competed on the seventh season of The X Factor in the UK and finished in third place. Despite losing, the group was signed to Syco Music by Simon Cowell. One Direction's first single, "What Makes You Beautiful" was released on September 11, 2011 and debuted in the UK Singles Chart at number one on September 18, 2011. It became the third fastest selling single of 2011, selling 153,965 copies. Their second single, "Gotta Be You," was released on November 11, 2011, and peaked at number three. In the five years since becoming a band, One Direction has sold over 50 million albums worldwide, and are the first band to ever have four albums debut at #1 on the US Billboard 200. Four of One Direction's albums have sold over a million copies in the USA. As of 2015, they were the 2nd highest earning celebrities of the year, earning $130 million. Their fourth world tour acquired over $188 million. On March 25, 2015, it was confirmed via a Facebook statement that Zayn had quit the band due to stress and a desire to begin a solo career. Niall, Harry, Liam and Louis continued the band, and their On The Road Again Tour, as a four piece. They began writing and recording their fifth album, and first without Zayn, in April 2015. On July 31, 2015, One Direction surprise released Drag Me Down. It reached #1 on iTunes in over 90 countries worldwide and was one of the best selling songs of 2015. Their fifth album Made in the A.M. was released on November 13, 2015. It debuted at #1 in Europe and also spawned the worldwide top 10 single Perfect. The third single was confirmed to be Infinity. On August 23, 2015, tabloid The Sun reported One Direction were taking a break in 2016, but used the headline "This Is The End" which caused other media outlets to report the band was splitting up. Niall confirmed the band would be taking a break on Twitter the next day, but said they had no plans to split up. Louis also tweeted his reassurance and both said they still had lots more they wanted to achieve as a band. This hiatus is a chance for the band to take a break after four consecutive world tours to see their families and take a holiday. Sony confirmed they will not be pursuing solo careersSony statement. The band has confirmed in numerous interviews they may write songs for other acts, which Liam and Harry have already done in the past. The break was a mutual decision made amongst the four boys. Despite media outlets claiming the band is "breaking up", all four have continually explained this is simply a well deserved breakLouis and Liam talk the break, something all artists take. They've even expressed frustration with the continued assumption of a split, Niall stated "It seems like no matter how many times we say that we are not breaking up, the more people are convinced we are breaking up, so I have given up trying to explain it. It will be good to be able to get home a bit more, because that really is the only downside of the gig.Niall's statement" The exact timeframe of the break is not confirmed as the band want to be able to decide when they're readyLiam: "The break will be shorter than people think". They have suggested 18 months, one year and two years. Niall and Liam both suggested they are likely to begin writing for the next album by mid 2016. Liam and Louis have said they want to keep writing songs together during the hiatus. Despite continued speculation, Harry has said he has no solo plans and it was reported in November that he had turned down several offers. History ''The X Factor'' (2010-11) Originally, each member auditioned as a solo artist for the seventh season of The X Factor UK (This was actually Liam's second time auditioning, he first auditioned in 2008). They each made it through to bootcamp, but were eliminated prior to judges' houses. However, the judges decided that some of the contestants were too talented, and they couldn't just let them walk away. So, they called back ten contestants. Among those contestants that were called back were Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry, and Louis. The five boys and five girls were told that they were being given a second chance. If they agreed, they would now be a part of a group act (one boy band and one girl group). Both groups agreed, and were put through to judges' house. Following bootcamp, all five members of the boy band spent two weeks living at Harry's home in Chesire in order to get to know each other and bond together.'We had to overcome our egos'. Digital Spy. October 6, 2010. While brainstorming group names, it was Harry that ultimately came up with the name One Direction. They made it to the finale, but finished in third place behind Rebecca Ferguson in second place, and Matt Cardle in first. But despite that, Simon still signed the band to Syco Music. Up All Night (2011-12) Since being signed to Syco Music, the band has released their debut album, Up All Night, which includes the singles: "What Makes You Beautiful", "One Thing", "Gotta Be You", and "More Than This". Up All Night sold more than 4.5 million copies worldwide and What Makes You Beautiful became one of the best selling songs of all time. Take Me Home (2012-13) In late 2012, One Direction released their second album Take Me Home, which includes the singles "Live While We're Young", "Little Things" and "Kiss You". The album reached number one in 35 countries. Midnight Memories (2013) In November 2013, One Direction released their third studio album Midnight Memories, which includes the singles "Best Song Ever", "Story of My Life", "Midnight Memories" and "You & I". Midnight Memories was the best selling album of 2013, selling four million copies. Four (2014) One Direction's fourth studio album was released on November 17, 2014. The album release was announced on September 8 along with a free download of the promotional single from the album, Fireproof for 24 hours only. The song acquired over a million downloads. On September 29, 2014, the lead single Steal My Girl was released, followed by their second single, Night Changes on November 14, 2014. During May 2015, fans organised a "fan release" campaign called Project No Control for Four album track No Control. Through Twitter, Youtube and various social media platforms, over 60 radio stations globally agreed to play the song, with some adding it to their regular rotation, and garnering significant media attention for the song, as well as acknowledgement from the band itself. On March 25, 2015, One Direction announced in a statement on their Facebook that Zayn has departed from One Direction, citing stress, and his desire to live "as a normal 22-year-old". The band will continue as a four-piece and the band's fifth album is to be released later this year. Made In The A.M. (2015) One Direction's fifth studio album set to be released on November 13, 2015. The album release was announced September 22, 2015. A free download of the track, Infinity, was included in the pre-order of the album. Drag Me Down is the first official single from the album, released on July 31, 2015. Which sold more than 300,000 digital copies within the first day of its release. This will be the first album without Zayn Malik, and the last album before the boys break next year. Discography *''Up All Night'' (2011) *''Take Me Home'' (2012) *''Midnight Memories'' (2013) *''Four'' (2014) *''Made In The A.M.'' (2015) Film "This Is Us" was the first theatrical film of One Direction, detailing what life is like for the band when they tour the world. It was shot in 3D. Filming started in January 2013. It was released in most countries at the end of August, 2013. This Is Us is currently the fourth highest grossing concert movie, grossing over six times the film's budget. The band's music video for Best Song Ever featured preview clips from the film, and the plot of the video centered around One Direction being asked by a Hollywood production company to film a movie. "One Direction: Where We Are - The Concert Film" was the second theatrical film of One Direction, showcasing one concert at San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, during the band's 2014 Where We Are world tour. The film was exclusively released to cinema for two days from October 11, 2014. While mostly centered around the concert, the DVD featured behind the scenes footage of the band rehearsing songs, while discussing their success so far and recording their fourth album. The footage also showed the band visiting Christ The Redeemer in Rio De Janeiro on a day off. The film broke the record for the highest grossing event cinema production with a net total of $15 million. Filmography Awards and nominations One Direction has received five BRIT Awards—winning their first with What Makes You Beautiful for Best British Single at the 2012 BRIT Awards, three NME Awards, two Kids' Choice Awards, and four MTV Video Music Awards, among other awards. One Direction won all nineteen awards they were nominated for at the Teen Choice Awards. One Direction also won two American Music Awards out of their two nominations for Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group, respectively. References Category:One Direction Category:The X Factor Category:Songs Category:Studio albums